“Priddy Ugly’s Sama30 Victory Inspires New Chapter in Music Journey”

Rapper Ricardo “Priddy Ugly” Moloi is on cloud nine after taking home the Best Hip Hop Album award at the 30th annual South African Music Awards (Samas) for his album Dust.

“I’m over the moon and humbled. I want to thank God and my family. It’s been a long time coming. It’s a very well-deserved award,” he told TshisaLIVE.

In October 2023, the rapper released a statement revealing that after 15 years in the music industry, having released three albums, three mix tapes and five EPs, and having been featured on 500 songs, his album Dust was going to be his last.

However, the Sama win has reignited his passion for music.

“For the past year the country denied my resignation. The love I received last year with the album rollout has been amazing, so there’s definitely more music coming. There is a deluxe album coming. We are not stopping.

“I was feeling unappreciated, not by the industry but by the people I worked with. Making the music was easy but it was the process of trying to get the music out that left me feeling like I wasn’t appreciated and I wasn’t good enough. It was the lack of support I felt I was getting made it seem like this wasn’t worth it anymore.”

During his break, Priddy Ugly said his parents made him consider changing careers, and he is grateful to his family and loyal fans for keeping him going.

“The people who kept me going were my family. They rejuvenated me, they brought me back to life. A year ago my parents were speaking to me asking me if I don’t want to go get a job so this is for them as well.

“It gave me time to be with my family. I stopped doing shows. I didn’t want to be out, which was a good and bad thing. The good thing about it was that it gave me a lot of time to reflect and gave me a lot of time in the studio. I made a lot of music in that time. The bad in it was that because you remove yourself from the world you start to lose your perception of where you are in the world and if you are even needed.”